Pretending He's Beside Me
by silentlydreaming
Summary: When Eponine and Enjolras meet in heaven...
1. Words He'll Never Say

She watched the wedding from high above. When she saw the joy on the young couples' faces, a soft, sad smile tugged on her lips.

_These are words he'll never say, not to me, not for me._

Enjolras saw the young girl crouched and walked over. He sat down beside her but she didn't seem to notice. He cleared his throat.

"I forgot that Marius's wedding was today."

Eponine turned to him, her face shining. "I could never forget," she replied. She redirected her gaze to watch the happy ceremony. "Marius always said he wanted his wedding to be during the springtime."

Enjolras watched Eponine with curiosity. It was no secret that she had always fancied his friend, the only one blind enough not to see it was Marius himself. As he watched his best friend laugh and dance, Enjolras felt a sudden lump in his throat. He abruptly got up and stormed off.

"Enjolras?" He heard Eponine call in confusion behind him. He continued to walk nonetheless. "Enjolras!" Eponine yelled, refusing to be ignored. Enjolras felt her hand tug on his arm, but did not turn around. "Is something wrong?" She demanded. He didn't reply or even looked at her, he just looked down at his feet, one of his jaw muscles twitching almost imperceptibly. Eponine saw the twitch and sighed. "Well, why don't we take a walk?" She offered. Enjolras turned around to look at Eponine's youthful face and into her aged eyes in surprise, but then nodded. He needed to get away for a while. So wordlessly, they began their journey.


	2. In Your Embrace At Last

**Disclaimer: I don't own Les Mis**

**A/N : Thanks for the reviews! Keep them coming! I hesitated with this chapter because it was a lot of angst and quite frankly it's boring. And people may not like how Enjolras is portrayed but oh well...Enjoy!**

Heaven had transformed Eponine in a way. There was no more starvation, no more inequality, no more immoral work to be done. She was content, leading a sort of afterlife that she could only dream about, with the exception of Enjolras at her side instead of Marius. Despite her shrunken temper and stubbornness, she still possessed an internal fire that made her...well...Eponine.

Everyone who had died that night the barricades fell were surprised to find that heaven was just like Paris, which was such a hell in contrast. However it was the Paris that Enjolras had imagined, new and transformed. So each night Eponine set out on her walk by the river, imagining herself talking to Marius as she did while she was mortal. It was still a completely different process even though the journey was the same. Eponine now imagined talking to Pontmercy like the friends they've always been, realizing that if she really loved him, she would want him to be happy, even if that meant he was without her. All of these musings crossed through Eponine's mind when suddenly Enjolras uncomfortably cleared his throat.

"You take walks a lot, don't you?" Enjolras asked Eponine, gazing at her with a sparkling curiosity. Eponine nodded. "It helps me forget. I would take them every night and just imagine conversations between me and other people...if I were born into a higher social class." She hesitated and he saw her caution. "You imagined Pontmercy didn't you?" Enjolras threaded carefully on the delicate matter. The girl beside him bit her lip and slowly nodded. "But, we're not here to talk about me, are we?" She quickly changed the matter. "How about you Monsieur? What could possibly be on the mind of the brave revolution leader?" She teased. He couldn't help but smile at Eponine. "I...it's complicated. I'm probably just being dumb...but I just feel like, this is all of my fault."

Enjolras sat down right away and looked out to the river, consumed with guilt and rage. "This would've never happened if I hadn't pushed us when we weren't ready. They're all here...you're here because of me. I should be living still, watching Marius getting married, and being there because I'm his best friend. But I screwed everything up and you know that." Enjolras then proceeded to bury his face in his hands, fighting back long hard sobs, hidden and accumulated for weeks.

Eponine sat down beside him and awkwardly threw her arms around him, trying to give comfort to the breaking marble man. Eventually, Enjolras stopped and was more embarrassed than ever. Here he was, blubbering like a child to a woman...thankfully Grantaire wasn't there to make him feel worse. "I'm so sorry," he mumbled into Eponine's shoulder, still in her embrace.

Eponine quietly shushed him, and the two found comfort in each other and feel asleep in corresponding embraces.

_And you will keep me safe,_

_And you will keep me close,_

_I'll sleep in your embrace at last._


	3. His Arms Around Me

Chapter 3

**A/N: Can you say angst? Please R and R :)**

Eponine woke first. She moved to get up, but found that an arm that was laced protectively around her prohibited her from doing so. Her situation came back to her and she smiled and relaxed back into Enjolras's chest.

_Without him, I feel his arms around me, and when I lose my way, I close my eyes and he has found me._

She watched the river flow slowly by, and remembered what Enjolras had said last night. How could it be? The man of marble...afraid? No, it couldn't be. But it was, it was all true. Enjolras stirred beneath her and gave out a little grunt.

" Ponine? What..." He muttered. Eponine got off him and smiled. "Morning sleepyhead." She giggled. "I didn't want to wake you up." He blinked a couple of times and rubbed his eyes. "Oh, well you could've I wouldn't have minded." He smiled back. Enjolras hesitated. "Look, I'm sorry about last night..." "No, Enjolras, let me speak." Eponine interrupted. Enjolras, not used to being interrupted, cocked an eyebrow at the wench but listened.

"You have no right to blame yourself for all the deaths that resulted from the uprising." Enjolras started to speak but was quickly silenced by a glare from Eponine. "Those students followed you into war, but you never forced them too. You told them they could leave if they wanted too. But they didn't because they believed in YOU. And that was their choice to make, not yours." Eponine's tone grew softer and reached out to touch Enjolras's cheek. He saw the gesture and held his breath, silently waiting to experience her gentle touch. But Eponine blushed and drew her hand back.

"You started something. You've taught France a lesson. And when it's time, it's going to reform, and it's going to be in your honor." She finished quietly. Enjolras took advantage of her silence to process what she just said. He gave out a slow chuckle. "You know, you're a lot smarter than I thought you would be." Eponine flushed even redder, and sighed. "Don't beat yourself up over it," she chided him. She got up and brushed the nonexistent dirt off of her. "Well, I'll see you around." She smiled and extended her hand. Enjolras accepted her offer and shook it with a smile of his own. He watched her walk away, and after she was gone, he inspected his transformed hand. He then suddenly longed for her soft touch to be enclosed in his hand again, for reasons only God knew why. The two souls went separate ways without being satisfied.


End file.
